Cycling seasons tend to be remembered by their highlights; moments that enthrall us, events which surprise us, and the compelling stories of the riders involved. Stage 20 of the 2025 Giro d’Italia had all this and more. Prior to the visit in May, the last time the Giro had ascended the Colle delle Finestre was in 2018, when Simon Yates finished 38 minutes down and his pink jersey challenge blew up on its menacing slopes. This season he banished his Finestre demons and stormed his way to the maglia rosa ahead of Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz.
On stage at Rouleur Live 2025, Yates provided insight on the tactics of the pivotal stage, where Del Toro and Carapaz looked at each other and he stole the show: “[The night before] I said to my sports director, ‘I need these guys to look at each other. I need a gap’. I think that was my only chance. I’d tried to drop them earlier in the race, and if anything they were stronger than me. I needed that moment of hesitation. I knew Carapaz had already won the Giro and so a second or third place doesn’t matter to him. So, it all fell into place for me.”
That aspect of everything falling into place is something Yates is quick to reference, as if he cannot believe (what he sees as) the luck that came his way. For the rest of the cycling world, very few would begrudge a bit of fortune for someone as talented and driven as Yates. The few expectations would be those in support of Carapaz and Del Toro.
“When I was initiating the attacks, there wasn’t much chat from the car. But when I had the gap, I needed to know if they were together because if they were together they would be riding slower. I was screaming down the radio,” said Yates.
It was a tactical masterclass from Yates and Visma-Lease a Bike, with Wout van Aert up the road ahead, providing support when Yates caught up.
“Wout [van Aert] being there, I think it cracked the other two [Del Toro and Carapaz]. It wasn’t just his physical power, it was the mental aspect. Them hearing ‘Simon’s joined Wout’. Those two are already fighting, they were already not friends,” Yates explained to the Rouleur Live crowd.
Switching from a team he had known since turning pro to one of the sport’s most meticulously engineered environments could easily unsettle a rider, but Yates’ move from Jayco-Alula to Visma–Lease a Bike has proved to be a masterstroke for the man from Bury, who is always known for being…